


I sing anyway

by smaragdbird



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Coda, Developing Relationship, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, do not trust the empire, lando means well, luke is a sweetheart, people like to strangle lando
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-04 00:23:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12759282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smaragdbird/pseuds/smaragdbird
Summary: After they escape from Bespin Luke and Lando are both in a pretty bad shape. They find comfort in each other





	I sing anyway

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The_Plaid_Slytherin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Plaid_Slytherin/gifts).



For a moment Lando didn’t realize what had woken him up or where he was. For a moment he thought that everything had been a nightmare and that he was safely back on Bespin in his own bed. But then he recognized the Falcon and the face of the man next to his bed.

“You’re okay?” Luke asked his eyes full of concern.

Lando rubbed a hand over his face to get rid of the tiredness. “I’m fine. Did we arrive at the Fleet?”

Luke shook his head. “You were having a nightmare.”

“Yeah, it’s called my life”, Lando said before he could help himself. Usually he wasn’t one for self pity.

“Vader choked you, didn’t he?” Luke asked and before Lando could ask how he knew that, he added, “Sorry, I saw it in your nightmare. That’s why I woke you up.”

“You saw it?” Lando asked because Luke’s explanation raised more questions than it answered.

“I’m a…I’m a Jedi”, Luke replied. “It’s one of the things I can do. I’m not very good at it though.”

“Thought Jedi were a myth”, Lando said, rubbing his throat to get rid of the imaginary tightness. “But I guess that explains why Leia knew where to find you.”

“I’m sorry he hurt you”, Luke said and it seemed as if Lando wasn’t going to escape that conversation. Maybe Luke deserved the truth. After all he had come to Bespin looking for Leia, Han and Chewie and if Lando hadn’t sold them out then maybe Luke would still have both hands. As if he needed another thing to feel guilty about in the mess he had made. 

“Not even remotely your fault.” Lando sat up. If he had to have this conversation he wanted to be at an equal level with Luke instead of having him stare down at him with those piercing blue eyes. Of course Lando wasn’t used to the tight dimensions of the Falcon and promptly hit his head.

“Sorry”, Luke said and it was absurd enough to make Lando snort.

“Also not your fault.”

“You’re right, I just…I’m sorry I woke you up.” Luke looked like he was about to leave but Lando caught his wrist.

“Hey, you did the right thing. I’d rather be awake than dream about getting choked by Darth Vader.”

“Why did he do it?”

“I didn’t spend six years ensuring the independence of my city to give that up just because a guy in a mask and a frankly boring black cloak threatened me. That magic trick was something else though.” Automatically he touched his throat again when a thought occurred to him. “Can you that too?”

At first Luke shook his head but then he shrugged. “Maybe? I’ve never tried. But there’s a lot I don’t know, about the Force…about anything.” Luke’s voice had a strange undertone when he said the last words, somewhere between self-accusatory and betrayed.

“Listen to me whine when you lost so much more”, Lando said, shaking his head.

“You lost a whole city”, Luke said, looking at him as if he could see straight through him. Lando had gotten the same impression from Vader but with Luke it bothered him a whole lot less.

“You lost a hand”, Lando countered. He had bandaged the wound as well as he could since neither Leia nor Chewbacca had first aid training but it would need better medical attention when they arrived at the rebel fleet. As a small mercy lightsabers cauterized the wounds they left so there was less chance of Luke bleeding out. “Vader – he did something else, didn’t he?” Considering what kind of monster Darth Vader was Lando wasn’t surprised to see Luke flinch slightly at his question. He regretted asking.

“He…he told some things”, Luke replied. “I…”

“Hey, Vader is not a man of his word, trust me. You don’t have to believe anything he said to you.”

Luke gave him a wan smile. “I know what he said was true. I can feel it in the Force. It’s not just what he said; it’s that the people who should’ve told me the truth lied to me.”

“Speaking from experience most people lie to protect something or someone.”

“I suppose…” Luke trailed off staring into the void for a moment before he turned back to Lando. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For listening.”

“Well, thank you for waking me up.”

“Anytime”, Luke said and the longer he kept holding Lando’s gaze the more tempted Lando felt to do something truly, spectacularly stupid like kissing Luke. Fortunately Luke dropped his eyes before it could come that far. “I should let you get back to sleep.” He stood up and this time Lando didn’t try to stop him.

“Hey Luke”, he called after him.

“Yeah?”

“If you want to talk, I’m here.”

Luke gave him a smile as bright and quick as the flash from a pulsar. “Good night, Lando.”

“Good night, Luke.”

/

“Heard you’re officially a rebel now”, Luke said when Lando visited him on the medical frigate. Then he noticed Lando was rubbing his neck. “Did something happen?”

“General Syndulla was the third person to strangle me within a week. My neck seems to be irresistible. Maybe I should invest in a scarf.”

“You know General Syndulla?”

“I may or may not have had a run in with the Ghost crew a few years ago and that may or may not have resulted in me selling then-Captain Syndulla to a guy named Azmorigan as part of a scheme.” Lando grinned. “Who knows?”

Luke laughed and shook his head. “You were a scoundrel.”

“I prefer the term opportunist”, Lando replied, dragging a chair next to Luke’s bed and sitting down. “How’s the hand?”

A shadow fell over Luke’s face. “They can’t re-grow it so I’m getting a prosthetic. They’ll have to cut off the cauterized flesh to attach it properly.”

Lando winced. “I’m sorry.”

Luke shrugged. “It could be worse.”

“It could also be better. Just imagine the Emperor realizes he has been wrong all along and immediately transfers powers to Leia and quietly retires to….Naboo.”

“Why Naboo?” Luke asked but he was smiling which had been Lando’s goal all along.

“I heard it’s a nice planet. Very pretty, very civilized, not much excitement. Where would you retire to?”

Luke tilted his head, thinking about it. “I quite liked Yavin. I could be a farmer again, it’s probably much easier there than on Tatooine.”

“You’re from Tatooine?”

“Didn’t I tell you?” Luke asked, surprised that Lando didn’t know it. “Yes, I’m from Tatooine. My uncle’s farm was near Mos Eisley.”

“How does a farm boy from Tatooine end up as a Jedi rebel leader?” 

Luke told him. He had obviously told the story a few times already, Lando noticed, because it was pretty well practiced. But it was a good story and it seemed to distract Luke a little more from his current situation. 

Beaten up and bruised as he had been when they had first met Lando hadn’t paid much attention to Luke’s looks. But even though the bruises hadn’t healed completely yet Lando could see that Luke was an attractive man especially given how easily and brightly he smiled.

“ – and then the Death Star blew up”, Luke finished.

“I think the most impressive part of the story is how you and Leia managed to rope Han into your rebellion and made him stay”, Lando replied.

“Han’s a good man”, Luke said, “I think he just needed an opportunity to prove it.” He caught Lando’s eyes and Lando realized that Luke wasn’t just talking about Han.

“He did a better job than I”, Lando said. He had gotten news by now that most of his people had been caught and imprisoned by the Empire. He could only hope that the rebellion would be successful and he could help them before it was too late.

“You did your best.”

“My best wasn’t good enough.”

“Mine wasn’t either”, Luke replied. “But we’re alive and we can still fight to make things right.” He gave Lando an encouraging smile and for the first time since he had to leave Bespin Lando felt something like hope stir in his chest.

“That’s why Chewbacca and I are going to look for Han. We’re going to bring him back. It’s the least I can do.”

“You could’ve accepted the altered deal for the sake of your people”, Luke said.

“Maybe I should have”, Lando said. It was a line of thought he had followed quite often in the past few days but he had never liked where it would have ended.

“But you didn’t and that’s what matters”, Luke replied and added with a smile, “That’s why General Syndulla and Chewbacca didn’t go through with strangling you.”

Lando laughed. He appreciated Luke’s attempt to lighten the mood. Luke ducked his head to hide his smile and Lando felt the urge again to kiss him like he had on the Falcon. He wanted to say something else when the door swished open and a medi droid walked in.

“Everything is ready for the operation”, it announced as Luke grimaced.

“Thank you”, he said before he turned back to Lando. “When are you leaving?”

“Soon”, Lando said, “they’re checking that the Falcon is up and running and then we’re off.” Was he imagining things or did Luke look slightly disappointed? “I’ll com you before we take off. Chewie will want to say goodbye too.”

“You two are getting along again?”

“If we don’t find Han Chewbacca will have plenty of opportunity to strangle me to his heart’s content”, Lando replied with a grin despite his words only being half a lie. 

Luke smiled at him. “Be careful.”

“You, too.”

/

The months on Tatooine had reminded Lando why he had been so keen on leaving that kind of life behind. Politics was brutal too but at least it was usually conducted behind a thin veneer of civility and not with pits filled with beasts. 

He left Han behind in Leia’s arms. Having his friend back mostly unharmed took a heavy weight from his shoulders. He and Han would be fine, they had been through worse situations. Lando had known it from the moment Han had saved him from the Sarlacc. Fortunately he wasn’t one to hold a grudge.

Lando found Luke before he even realized he was looking for him. There had been days on Tatooine when he could’ve used some of Luke’s sunny temper. It was a small wonder that a world as harsh and deadly as that had turned out an optimist like Luke.

To his surprise Luke had switched his clothes for a flight suit and seemed to prepare leaving the Falcon. “You’re not coming back to the Fleet with us?” Lando asked as he approached Luke who was putting rations into a bag.

Luke shook his head. “There is somewhere I have to be. I made a promise.”

“I know a thing or two about promises”, Lando replied. With Han safely rescued from Jabba he could concentrate on helping the rebellion and hopefully, down the line, help Bespin. 

“How did you like Tatooine?” Luke asked suddenly and a bit shyly as if he was asking something else entirely.

“I can understand why you left though to be fair, I’ve been to worse planets”, Lando replied. He was glad Luke had brought up a new topic. It meant they could spend a little more time together. Despite having seen so little of him, Lando liked being around Luke.

“Me, too”, Luke smiled. “If I never have to go back to Hoth or another ice planet it’ll be too soon.”

“Too cold?” Lando teased him.

“Way too cold”, Luke pretended to shudder. “Luckily Dagobah is a jungle world.”

“Never heard of it.”

“It’s pretty remote and uninhabited safe for…” Luke’s face became more serious. “For the people I need answers from.”

“About what Vader told you?”

Luke nodded and smiled at Lando again even if it looked a little strained around the edges. “I’ll see you when I come back.”

Lando wanted to say something else, anything else to make Luke stay a little longer but he couldn’t think of anything. “Don’t take too long or we’ll beat the Empire without you.”

Luke laughed as he climbed into his X-Wing. “I’ll try my best.”

/

“So you’re going with Han and Leia”, Lando said when Luke found him. He was wearing the same black clothes he had been wearing since Tatooine. In Lando’s opinion they didn’t fit Luke at all. “That’s too bad. I could use a pilot like you.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, General Calrissian”, Luke smiled, bright and warm and that was why the black clothes didn’t fit him at all. Luke wasn’t dark. “It’s something I feel I have to do. I can’t explain it any better.”

While it didn’t make for a satisfying answer, it was one Lando could accept. He knew that sometimes you just had to follow your gut no matter how illogical it seemed. “How was your trip to Dagobah?” Lando asked. “Did you get the answers that you wanted?”

For a moment Luke looked indecisive but then he shook his head. “The answers were within me the whole time. But I know now who I am and what I am.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Except – “Luke started and then stopped just as abruptly. 

“Except?” 

“We’re defining ourselves in relation to other people, right? I mean we’re someone’s son or brother or friend or – “he blushed slightly, “or lover.”

“Sure”, Lando said, curious what Luke was going to say. He really hoped that Luke wasn’t going to tell him he was in love with Han. Considering Han and Leia seemed to be a done deal that could only end in heartbreak.

“But being someone’s friend or more has to be reciprocal otherwise it doesn’t count.”

“Luke”, Lando was amused by all the squirming Luke was doing to avoid the heart of the topic. “Just say what you have to say.”

Instead Luke chose to kiss him. That was so unexpected that Lando just stood there like a statue until Luke withdrew, looking like someone had shot his Loth-cat. “Sorry.”

“I thought you liked Han!” Lando blurted out.

“I do, I mean as a friend, and I’m pretty sure he’s in love with Leia, so…”

“Me?”

“You.”

Lando took a step closer. “You took me by surprise.”

“Good surprise or bad surprise?”

“Very good surprise”, Lando replied and placed his fingers under Luke’s chin to tilt his head up. This time the kiss lasted longer and went deeper. “Though your timing is abysmal.”

“I promised myself I would do something about it before I…before the mission. In case something happens.”

“Kriff no, you better make it back. Leaving me hanging like this should be a criminal offense.”

Luke smiled. “Then you better make it back too so you can write that into law.”

“Don’t tempt me”, Lando laughed and kissed him again. 

“I need to go”, Luke said when he broke the kiss, almost unwillingly.

Lando let him go just as reluctantly. “May the Force be with you, Luke.”

“And with you.”


End file.
